Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

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ELEVATOR PITCH XXXIII EDITION

On Tuesday 2^nd February we held the XXXIII edition of our Elevator Pitch networking event which on this occasion took place at the Chamber’s offices in central London.

The event was chaired by Igor Urra, Secretary General at the Spanish Chamber, who began by explaining the format of the event:

-Participation is limited to one representative per company and a maximum of 16 companies can take part in each edition.

-Only two companies of the same sector can register for the event.

-Each attendee has two minutes to explain the work of his company to the other participants. Following this, everyone has the opportunity to ask questions to their fellow participants about their companies. Attendees then are able to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.

On this occasion, a wide variety of sectors were represented among the 10 participating companies: Audiense (Communications, IT and Network), Babel (Business Consultancy Services), Desamianta (Construction), Diversitas Institute (Businness Consultancy Services), DLF (Transport of Good, Storage and Handling Goods), El Ibérico (Press and Publishing Services), Fastrack to Refocus (Coaching, Education, Training and Learning), Hotel Indigo Kensington (Hotels and Accommodation), Melia White House (Hotels and Accommodation), Stonehealth Clinic (Health).

We would like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch and we hope that they found it profitable.

If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, we encourage you to keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one.

21/02/2018
Mahou Informal Party: Welcome Back from the Summer!

On Wednesday 14^th September, we had the pleasure of celebrating our first “Mahou Informal Party” which was organised in collaboration with Mahou – San Miguel, Patron of the Chamber. On this occasion the event took place at The King’s Arms, a pub in the Putney Bridge area, which provided the perfect backdrop for the evening.

Our members had the opportunity to reconnect with other colleagues after the summer holidays.

This event marks the beginning of a series of exciting parties in partnership with Mahou- San Miguel, a Spanish family owned company with 125 years of history and international presence in 70 countries, with United Kingdom being one of its main markets, where the company has had presence for more than 25 years.

The event gathered nearly 100 guests who had the chance to experience and learn more about the brewer craft. In fact, they could see with their own eyes what it takes to master the art of pouring and could enjoy a refreshing beer after a warm day.

A Mahou portable bar was the perfect way to show guests how to pour the perfect beer.

They also had to opportunity to catch up with other members after the summer holidays, whilst enjoying one of Spain’s most renowned beers in a cosy atmosphere.

If you have missed this “Mahou Party”, you can still take part in the next one in October which will be announced shortly. If you want to have a look at how the evening went, click here for the pictures of the event.

The Mahou team offered our members the opportunity to enjoy an authentic five-start taste experience.

We would like to thank everyone for joining such a wonderful evening, with a special mention to the sponsor of the event Mahou- San Miguel for making possible this fantastic event.

If you want to find out more about it and the upcoming activities the Chamber is organising, we recommend that you have a look at our UPCOMING EVENTS visiting our website or subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

21/09/2016
A NEW EDITION OF THE “TWO WEEKS PROGRAMME” IN LONDON

On Friday 29^th July the Spanish Chamber of Commerce hosted an informative session that was part of “The Two Weeks Programme”, an initiative jointly organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Valencia University (UV).

This is the fifth year in a row in which the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain takes part in this exciting initiative. The delegation that came to London was led by Mr. Antonio Reig, Prof. Dr. Industrial Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and coordinator of the programme.

The “Two Weeks Programme” takes place once a year and it gives 20 students from the above universities the opportunity to travel to London for a two-week stay. During the programme the participants attend a course about recruitment processes and visit prestigious companies from different industries related to their field of studies, such as Energy, IT, Industrial Production, Technical Consultancy, Financial Engineering, Construction and Real Estate.

The participants of the «Two Weeks Programme» from the UPV.

The session hosted at the Spanish Chamber provided further information about the role of the institution and the opportunities available in the UK for young graduates.

To start off, Ms. Cristina Carmona, Head of External Relations and Communications, welcomed the participants on behalf of our institution and spoke about the main services provided by the Chamber and the activities we organise throughout the year. This topic proved of special interest for the students, who took the opportunity to enquire further about it.

Ms. Cristina Carmona (Spanish Chamber of Commerce) welcoming the participants along with Mr. Geoff Curran (Energy Live News).

The next speaker was Ms. Sofía Vázquez, Co-founder of Bookingenglish, a company specialised in sourcing English courses, assessing candidates CVs and finding placements for graduates. She offered the participants of the Two Weeks Programme useful tips to be successful at interviews and selection processes, and highlighted the importance of making a first good impression.

She also mentioned other things to take into consideration such as the need to be flexible in a competitive and demanding market and shared her experience as co-founder of a business and the challenges it presents.

Ms. Sofía Vázquez, Co-Founder of Bookingenglish, during her talk.

Finally it was the turn of Geoff Curran, Founder and Commercial Director of Energy Live News, a leading energy news site in the United Kingdom. Mr. Curran shared relevant information about the background of the company and focused on explaining how to survive and thrive in business by providing an inspiring talk full of day-to-day examples to follow based on his previous experience.

Ms. Cristina Carmona closed the informative session and received a commemorative plaque from Mr. Antonio Reig as a memory of this fifth collaboration between our institution and the participants of the “Two Weeks Programme”.

Mr. Antonio Reig (UPV) handed a plate to Ms. Cristina Carmona (Spanish Chamber of Commerce) to mark this visit.

We would like to thank all the speakers of this informative session as well as the students who have taken part this year in the “Two Weeks Programme” for their interest and involvement.

If you wish to obtain further details about the programme and how it works, have a look at the following video on last year’s edition.

03/08/2016
INFORMAL SUMMER PARTY

On Tuesday 5^th July we welcomed the summertime with our traditional Informal Summer Party which on this occasion was kindly sponsored by PortAventura World, member of the Chamber.

This is one of our most popular events as it marks the end of our activities until September, so members take this opportunity to say farewell before their holidays and share their summer plans.

The party was a great success and over 150 guests gathered together, with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the new projects of PortAventura World while sipping delicious cocktails and canapes. The venue certainly contributed to create a relaxing but engaging atmosphere and allowed attendees to catch up with fellow members.

The spacious venue allowed attendees to mingle in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

Once the event was in full swing, our Secretary General Mr. Igor Urra, welcomed guests on behalf of our institution and introduced the representatives of PortAventura World: Ms. Coro Miguel, Head of Sales, and Mr. David Sánchez, Senior International Sales Manager.

They took the floor to thank everyone for joining such a wonderful evening and explained in further detail how PortAventura World will be welcoming new and exciting projects in 2017, including a Ferrari-themed park. They went on to show a video presentation that allowed attendees to discover and learn about the full extent of the PortAventura World experience.

From left to right: Mr. David Sánchez, Ms. Coro Miguel (representatives of PortAventura World) and Mr. Igor Urra (Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain).

After the speeches, it was time for the prize draw, where guests were in with the chance to win a weekend stay at PortAventura World. The lucky winners were Javier Arbina, from Arbina restaurant; Jose Saras, from Preiskel & Co., both members of the Chamber; and Paula Enríquez, from SCA Ontier, Patron of the Chamber.

One of the winners of a weekend stay at PortAventura World.

We would very much like to thank everyone who shared this evening with us and congratulate the winners. We are also extremely grateful to PortAventura World for having kindly sponsored this event and allowing our members to learn first-hand about their new projects.

The event gathered over 150 guests from different business sectors.

This Informal Summer Party is the icing on the cake to a fantastic first semester and it is now time to work on new activities for the rest of the year. We will be back in September with the next edition of the International Wine Tasting on Tuesday 20^th September, so please save the date in your diary.

If you missed our Informal Summer Party or just want to find out about other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising from September onwards, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website.

14/07/2016
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS AND HUMAN RELATIONS PREVIEW

On Tuesday, 14^th June we held the workshop “Effective Communications and Human Relations Preview”, organised in collaboration with Dale Carnegie, Benefactor member of the Spanish Chamber. This two-hour workshop provided attendees with useful tools and techniques that would help them communicate more effectively and strengthen interpersonal relations.

Our Secretary General, Igor Urra, gave a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of our institution and gave the floor to Ms. Alina Maraghelis, the speaker for this session.

Ms. Alina Maraghelis, the speaker from Dale Carnegie Training.

To kick off, she introduced the objectives of Dale Carnegie’s programme and talked about the three essential aspects to keep in mind in order to achieve success, what is also known as the Triangle for Success or Pyramid of Success: Skills, Knowledge and Attitude.

After that, Alina briefly highlighted the importance of using memory links while communicating. This explanation was followed by some practical exercises in which attendees were put to the test and had to remember the name of the rest by linking them to images and ideas.

All the participants had the chance to put into practice their memorization skills with some practical exercises.

Taking as a reference Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, she went on to explain the main principles that apply if we are to improve human relations in an effective way and mentioned how emotional and behavioural changes in individuals lead to better results in their communication styles.

Once the session finished, Alina encouraged attendees to share their thoughts and comment on her contributions. The Q&A session provided participants the opportunity to enquire further on how to enhance relationships and foster cooperation at working environments.

The attendees during the Q&A session.

Before the event was over, participants were invited to enjoy the breakfast, time when both the attendees and the speaker were able to discuss further the ideas the session had covered over a cup of coffee.

We would like to thank all attendees for joining us and particularly to Ms. Alina Maraghelis from Dale Carnegie for delivering again such an interactive and productive presentation on effective communications and human relations.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber of Commerce is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

30/06/2016
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK

On Tuesday 7^th June we had the pleasure of holding the workshop “Emotional Intelligence at Work”, organised in collaboration with The Client Academy, Benefactor of the Spanish Chamber.

On this occasion, our Secretary General, Igor Urra, received attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced Ms. Mónica Hernanz, Managing Director of the company and our speaker on the day.

To kick off, Mónica started the talk by explaining relevant information about the background of the company and herself before tackling what would be the main content of the workshop: what Emotional Intelligence is and its applicability on some working areas.

Ms. Mónica Hernanz, the speaker from The Client Academy during the session.

Furthermore, Mónica went on to describe the main features of highly emotional intelligent individuals and talked about how this concept has changed throughout the years. In particular, she focused on the EQi 2.0 test, which is considered as the most used and validated Emotional Intelligence test in the world and consists of 5 different areas: self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal, decision making and stress management.

To elaborate on this, the speaker provided attendees with an Emotional Intelligence self-scoring test by following the EQi 2.0 model, in order to evaluate their skills in comparison to most business people they know while explaining every relevant concept.

The attendees listened attentively during the workshop.

To conclude the workshop, Mónica briefly summed up the whole presentation and showed how an investment in Emotional Intelligence produces tangible results in businesses by sharing some successful cases in multinational companies.

Once the session finished, participants were invited to enjoy the breakfast; time when both the attendees and the speaker were able to discuss further the ideas the session had covered.

Participants had the opportunity to network and exchange their opinions about the session.

We would like to thank all attendees for joining us and particularly to Ms. Mónica Hernanz from The Client Academy for delivering such an interactive and productive presentation on Emotional Intelligence.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber of Commerce is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

22/06/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR “EMPLOYMENT LAW: WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2016”

On Thursday 14th April, we had the pleasure of holding the seminar “Employment Law: What to Expect in 2016”, organised in collaboration with Levenes Employment, part of Levenes Solicitors, member of the Spanish Chamber.

On this occasion, our Secretary General, Igor Urra, received attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced the speakers from Levenes Employment: Rachel Lester, Senior Solicitor and Shahzad Ayub, Solicitor.

From left to right, the speakers from Levenes Employment: Shahzad Ayub, Solicitor and Rachel Lester, Senior Solicitor.

To kick off the session, Shahzad Ayub introduced the company and revealed the main four aspects that would be covered during the session: Holiday Pay, National Living Wage, Gender Pay Reporting and Zero Hours Contracts.

After this brief introduction, he made reference to the minimum requirements and recent decisions taken on Holiday Pay, as well as explaining what payments should be included and how to calculate them properly.

Afterwards, the speaker focused on the five different rates of National Minimum Wage according to the different categories of worker by age. More importantly, he emphasised on one of these; the National Living Wage, which was introduced on 1 April 2016 and applies to workers aged 25 or over, and concluded this part of the talk explaining which workers are entitled to be taken into account.

The attendees were listening attentively throughout the session.

Once Shahzad had finished his discourse, Rachel Lester took over to talk about the Gender Pay Gap Reporting, which is expected to come into force on 1^st October 2016 in order to guarantee that male and female receive equal pay for equal work. In this sense, she focused on the information that employers will be required to publish and explained how to calculate both the mean and median pay.

Rachel then went on to explain which employers are affected and covered, as well as the consequences of non-compliance and the steps that employers should consider to prepare themselves for the new requirements.

To conclude the seminar, the speaker provided the attendees with useful information about the Zero Hours Contracts, which set out the terms of the relationship between an employer and a casual worker, and summarised how they can be of assistance with these issues.

The event then moved on to the Q&A session, where the representatives of Levenes Employment responded to all the questions from the attendees. Once the session finished, participants could enjoy an interactive networking breakfast while sharing thoughts and discussing further all the ideas covered in the talk.

Attendees had the opportunity to discuss further during the networking breakfast.

Before finishing, we would like to thank all attendees for participating as well as the team of Levenes Employment for creating a very enjoyable and dynamic atmosphere and for delivering such a practical and interactive talk.

Last but not least, we encourage you to keep updated on all the activities of the Spanish Chamber by visiting our UPCOMING EVENTS section. You can also subscribe to our weekly electronic newsletter in order to receive updates on the latest activities of the Chamber!

29/04/2016
EVENING TALK | JUMPING BARRIERS WHEN MOVING ABROAD.

On Thursday 17th March we held the evening talk “Jumping Barriers When Moving Abroad”, organised in collaboration with Kantox, member of the Spanish Chamber.

This two-hour event was the perfect occasion to show the participants how to mitigate risks when moving abroad by explaining which possible barriers should be taken into account to succeed during this process.

On this occasion, Brandon Smith, Country Manager at Kantox, welcomed attendees and briefly introduced himself before moving on to presenting the guest speaker for the evening: Daniel Evans, Chief Financial Officer at Dating Factory, who provided a practical example of the different barriers businesses must overcome based from his first-hand experience.

From left to right: Daniel Evans, Chief Financial Officer at Dating Factory and Brandon Smith, Country Manager at Kantox.

To kick off, Daniel started by explaining relevant information about the background of the company and where it came from before tackling the main content of his speech: the issues that arose when relocating the company from Ukraine to Bulgaria.

He then elaborated on this by explaining the struggles Dating Factory had to overcome during this process, which were mainly related to the following issues: legal aspects, technology, banks and financing, employees, cultural issues and currency approach. In this sense, he emphasised the relevance of having a proper FX strategy when entering a foreign market where local currency was difficult to get from traditional banks and explained the crucial role played by Kantox in their successful case.

The attendees were listening attentively throughout the session.

To conclude the seminar, Daniel provided an overview about the topics discussed in the talk and highlighted the importance of preparing a good plan in advance, learning quickly from mistakes and having constant communication at all levels. More importantly, David emphasized on the figure of the project manager and how having one can make a big difference to ease the hassle that arises from moving the company and its workforce abroad.

The event then moved on to the Q&A session, where the speaker provided further examples to answer the questions from the participants. Once the Q &A session was over, attendees and speakers could network and share their opinions over some drinks and nibbles while enjoying the breath-taking views over London.

Once the talk had finished, attendees had the opportunity to network and exchange their opinions about the session.

Last but not least, we encourage you to keep updated on all the activities of the Spanish Chamber by visiting our UPCOMING EVENTS section. You can also subscribe to our weekly electronic newsletter in order to receive updates on the latest activities of the Chamber!

05/04/2016
INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS TASTING 2015

On Wednesday 23rd September the Spanish Chamber was proud to take part in the 7th edition of the International Wine & Spirits Tasting. This annual event is organised by several Chambers of Commerce in London. The event’s main goal is to broaden attendees’ network by providing members from the different chambers and related organisations with the opportunity to access an international audience. For this edition, the Wine Tasting counted on one new addition: the Belgium Chamber of Commerce whom joined participants from the previous edition: Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

As the name of the event states, the evening was driven around the wide variety of wines & spirits from diverse regions of the 13 countries that were represented in the event. This time we had a record number of attendees, over 300 guests gathered at the magnificent Church House Conference Centre, located steps away from Westminster Abbey, to taste a selection of wine, beer and spirit varieties from around the world. Delegates from all the companies walked their way around the different country stations and dispersed themselves throughout the Assembly Hall where the event was held.

This year the event counted with almost 300 attendees.

On this occasion, the Spanish Chamber had two sponsors, one for the wine and one that provided the attendees with the best “Manchego cheese” in the world. Representatives from Codorníu Raventós had the opportunity to showcase their products to a great and varied audience. During the event there were many curious individuals and lovers of the Spanish gastronomy that stopped by the Spanish stand to taste the wines presented, Viña Pomal Centenario Reserva 2009 and Ánima de Raimat 2014 and the fabulous Anna Blanc de Blancs cava while getting some guidance through the tasting. Codorníu Raventós has 450 years of history behind it and eight wineries in the most important appellations within Spain, as well as two outside Spain – in California and Argentina. This expansion has made Codorníu Group one of the most prestigious winemaking companies in the world.

Cristina Oyarzun from Codorniu at the Spanish Chamber stand

Moreover, akey aspect of the event is the importance of the UK wine & spirits market. Great Britain is one of the main worldwide wine markets, in numbers; it is the sixth biggest market in the world regarding the buying and selling volume.

This fact was reflected on the wide variety of products that were presented during the event. We could taste a great selection of white, red, and sparkling wines, aside from the Tongerlo Blond beer imported from Belgium to a Mexican spirit called “Sotol”, without forgetting the sweet ice Canadian wine that was surprising once again.

Attendees were able to travel around the world with their senses: one minute they were in Austria, trying raspberry wine, next they jumped to Japan where they were indulged with sake, only to cross to the other side of the hemisphere to enjoy the popular Canadian iced wine.

The attendees had the chance to enjoy more than 40 different kinds of wines & spirits from around the world

We would like to express our gratitude to members and colleagues from the other Chambers for their hard work and effort to produce such a magnificent event. Big thanks to Church House for hosting the event, as well for all the support and immaculate work to make such a delightful evening possible!

Please click here to access the complete gallery of pictures for this event.

If you missed this event or just want to find out about other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising in the coming weeks, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

15/10/2015
THE XVII EDITION OF THE GRADUATE EUROPEAN PROGRAMME – INDUCTION WEEK

On Monday 14th September, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new edition of the Graduate European Programme. The programme offers university graduates the opportunity to undertake work experience in London at the same time as they attend different workshops. The programme, which this year has 12 participants, started with an Induction Week which included several talks and visits to institutions.

The Secretary General Mr. Igor Urra, along with Ms. Cristina Carmona, Head of Corporate Relations and Communication and Co-ordinator of the Programme, welcomed the group on Monday 14th September at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce premises. After the encouragement words from the Secretary General, who urged candidates to make the most of this opportunity, Cristina Carmona delivered a session aimed at helping candidates to succeed at the interviews they would be facing later in the week. The session also provided participants with useful tips to write a CV and to face a personal interview.

Ms. Cristina Carmona and Ms. Rosa del Campo during their talk to the participants.

Following a break, participants had the opportunity to meet Ms. Rosa Del Campo, Commercial Relationships Manager at UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), who explained the role of the UKTI and how they support overseas companies to land in the UK, but also how they help UK-based companies to enter new markets. The session concluded with an overview of those countries with a significant foreign investment presence in the UK, and provided examples on how Spanish companies have increased their internationalisation plans in recent years.

Later that day, three former participants of the Graduate European Programme visited the premises of the Chamber. Ms. Sandra Del Campo, Ms. Carmen Villanueva and Ms. Sofía Marcoartu shared their experience with the attendees and explained how taking part in this programme eventually led them both to find a job in London. They encouraged this year’s participants to make the most of the work experience. The talk concluded with a round of questions about life in London, hints to do well at the interviews and the differences between work routines in Spain and UK.

From left to right Ms. Cristina Carmona, Ms. Sandra del Campo, Ms. Sofía Marcoartu and Ms. Carmen Villanueva, as they explained their experience as former participants.

Before starting the interviews phase, on Tuesday 15th September the induction week followed with a visit to the Spanish Embassy in London, where participants were welcomed by Mr. Juan López-Herrera, the Minister Counsellor. He provided this year’s candidates with an overview of the main areas of work of the Embassy in the country and why the diplomatic service is important. To conclude the visit, the participants had some time to make a few questions to Mr. Juan López-Herrera.

Mr. Juan López-Herrera with the GEP participants after the talk at the Embassy.

Later on the afternoon, the participants had the chance to meet two top journalists, Roberto Casado from Expansion and Jordi Barcia from RNE. They went on to offer an overview of the life of a foreign press correspondent, the way they work and the main advantages and inconveniences of being a correspondent. At the end of their talks and after the Q&A, Mr. Barcia showed the participants his portable radio-set and explained them how he works when he is not in his studio.

From left to right, Jordi Barcia, Cristina Carmona and Roberto Casado.

Next on the agenda, on Friday 18^th was a visit to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where the participants where kindly welcomed by Mr. Antonio Oporto, Board Director for Spain and Mexico. Mr. Antonio Oporto started by explaining participants the historic context where the Bank was created so they could better understand its scope of action. He went on to share his insights on how current affairs can have an impact on the work of the EBRD, especially in regard to new countries where the bank operates. A very interactive Q&A followed the session where participants were able to learn more about specific areas of interest for the bank.

Mr. Antonio Oporto with the GEP participants during the talk at the EBRD.

We would like to thank all the speakers for the different sessions of the Induction Week and the institutions that kindly welcomed the participants of the XVII of our Graduate European Programme. We will be following their progress in London and encourage them to make the most of this unique experience.

25/09/2015

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